*Why We Defected To APC
*’I Should Have Followed Will Of My People’
A FORMER governor of Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has faulted Senator Bukola Saraki’s comment regarding his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), saying the former senate president lacks the moral right to criticise his decision.
Recall that on Monday, April 28, Okowa, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, their political appointees and PDP stakeholders in the state were formmaly received into the APC by Vice President Kashim Shettima and a well-attended ceremony in Asaba.
Saraki, in a statement, had said Okowa’s defection was an indication of how low politics has become in Nigeria, especially as Okowa was the PDP vice presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, describing his action as “unprecedented.”
He added: “It is shocking and unbecoming. It’s simply a sign of how low we have sunk as a polity.”
But reacting to Saraki’s view, Okowa, during a television programme, on Tuesday, April 29, said he does not expect someone like the former Kwara State governor to comment on his decision to decamp to another political party.
While stating that Saraki does not have the moral right to comment about defection, himself having once abandoned PDP for APC, added: “I did not expect that someone like Senator Bukola Saraki should be able to speak concerning me, because he knows that he had also moved to APC before and eventually return.
“He has had movement to and fro. So, I don’t think that he has the moral right to even speak about my defection at all.”
Okowa reiterated that the defection in Delta State was a collective decision of all political stakeholders in the state and motivated by the lingering PDP crisis, more so as recent communication from the party’s leadership indicated that it was not the proper political vehicle for the state ahead of the 2027 election.
Okowa stated: “Several things have been going on in the party. While I do not want to join issues with people, as stakeholders, our leaders in this state have sat down to look at the events in the last several months, and because of the events that we see and the communications coming out from the leadership of the PDP at the moment, it did not appear to us that that was a proper political vehicle for us to continue in.”
Okowa emphasised that PDP governors’ rejection of a coalition, coupled with the leadership crisis in the party, suggested that it was not ready for competition in the coming elections.
Reflecting on the 2023 elections and his decision to run alongside former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, Okowa regretted that he should have followed the will of his people, indicating that his acceptance to be Atiku’s running mate may have gone against the prevailing sentiments of his people, a decision he described as a misalignment he has since reflected deeply on.
While defending his track record as a public servant, especially in the area of infrastructure development, free maternal and child healthcare, and the success of his successor, Oborevwori, Okowa conceded that the choice to serve as Atiku’s running mate came at a political cost.
“Even when we were campaigning, I realised our people were not interested in having another northerner come into power.
“But the decision had already been taken at the federal level by the party, and I had been nominated.
“Still, in retrospect, I now believe I should have gone with the will of my people.”
He attributed PDP’s failure in Delta State during the presidential election to that sentiment, acknowledging that while he ran out of loyalty to his party, the South was deeply invested in producing President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor.
But he pointed out that things changed three weeks later in the governorship election, when PDP won in 21 out of the 25 local governments areas, saying: “That showed the people still believed in us, believed in me. They said ‘you’ve done well, and we will support the governor you have chosen.’ And they did.”
On insinuations linking his defection to a petion against him and his interrogation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the former governor restated that there were no sins to be given, as he had not committed any, stressing that he was never arrested by the anti0graft agency, but only honoured its invitation.
“I did well for the people of the state. Petitions can be written by anybody, but whatever petitions are written, the right of investigation is with the EFCC.
“So, there are no fears concerning that at all. And I have never spoken to Adams Oshiomole; we talked for the first time only yesterday (Monday), because we are of different political parts and because we are of different political parts, we were not friends perse.”
He insisted that his defection was not as a personal political maneuver, but the result of extensive consultations across the state, adding that continued opposition politics had placed the state at a disadvantage position, in terms of federal access and influence.
Regarding moral arguments against his defection, having served in multiple positions under PDP, Okowa said he owes no one an apology, adding: “Yes, I was a key player in PDP from the formative stages, but PDP of today is not the same party we built in 1998.
“When you find that the values and vision you once believed in are no longer there, then you step away.”
The former senator reiterated that the decision to defect was taken in the best interest of Delta State and its people, noting: “People wondered why, but one thing is very important: in the history of a people there is always a time to change their path for the common good of the people, and whatever decision we took was based on that common good and the need to change our path in the best interest of our state.”
he stated that it was necessary to enable Delta to better connect with the federal government and benefit from the resources and goodwill available in Abuja, adding: “As I did tell people that day (when I defected), it was not about me; it was not about the governor, but about the fact that there is a need for us to connect to Abuja.
“That goodwill that is in Abuja, that resource that is in Abuja, of which Delta State is a large contributor, there was a need to connect to it.
“I was governor for eight years; I was in opposition. I did my best, but we lost a lot, and I did not believe that the governor needed to stay working very hard without the needed support.
“We are very supportive of the governor because he’s doing a lot, but as the governor is doing a lot for us, he also needs to connect to the greater source of power, resources and goodwill in Abuja.
“When we sat down after stakeholders’ meetings, we thought it was necessary to make this bold, strategic, patriotic and well-intentioned move.”
He urged party members to unite and work together, saying the defection would strengthen the APC in Delta.
“We must defend our state. Our state stands far beyond us, and I believe that this decision is in the best interest of all. It is time for us to embrace each other. Our brothers and sisters who were already in the APC and those of us that have come into the family, we need to embrace each other and work with oneness of heart.
“It is time for us to stand together in great support for Mr. President and Mr. Governor, because together we can truly dominate the politics in Delta State.
“I believe there will be no other party, with this move that we have made.”
